A redirect is a behind-the-scenes instruction that a website provides to a visitor's browser letting the browser know the original URL location requested is actually named something else or located somewhere else, and it sends the browser to that new location.

No one wants to think website visitors are spending time on error pages, but it happens. The 404 error page is one place that these interactions happen rather frequently. Design it in a way that speaks to users rather than encouraging them to leave your site.

It's not common by any means, but in certain circumstances, it is possible to seemingly--or actually--delete your homepage. Even though the few seconds after discovering this occurrence might give you a sense of panic and cause you to break out in a cold sweat, a simple solution is available to help you fix the situation.